I am really sorry to read in the Coventry Telegraph that
97,000 people have now signed a petition calling for it to be made a criminal offence
for adults who work with children to fail to report any suspicions of abuse and
neglect. http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/nearly-97000-sign-up-call-6733598
I’m sure that most of the people who signed the
petition are well meaning, and I’m sure that the organisers think that they are
doing the right thing. But I believe that a so-called ‘Daniel’s Law’ is likely
to have the opposite to the intended effect.
With such a law children are more likely to be unsafe because adults working
with them will be constantly covering their backs fearing the possibility of
conviction or even imprisonment if they make mistakes and fail to spot abuse at
an early stage.
A culture of blame inhibits safety. We do not need the
criminal law here. What we require is better training for all adults working
with children to help them to recognise the signs of abuse and neglect, which
often are not obvious.
I wish 97,000 people would sign a petition asking for
that.
